My Definition of Normal

Game of Thrones Season 4 Asian Premiere

Howdy guys! Apologies for having disappeared these past two weeks or so. I’d been looking for fodder for a post and let’s just say lying on the couch all day isn’t going to make inspiration fall from the sky. Luckily, some good has come off of newspaper-reading and so I’d made use of my half-dead Facebook account to win myself a pair of invites to the Game of Thrones Asian Premiere right here in Singapore. How convenient. Yeah, I’m one of those fans.

HBO Asia alerted me on Facebook on April 1st, so I’d initially thought I’d been fooled. If you’re lucky in Asia, question it. However, those folks would never have dared to pull off such a horrible prank and a few emails later, I’d secured my attendance at the event. The premiere was scheduled for 6.30 p.m. yesterday (April 4th). Imagine the long wait right up till then. I was so excited that I sent myself to the toilet with a bad stomach ache.

When my friend and I got to the screening venue and saw the various house banners and large character panels for photos, I nearly fainted, trying to suppress the hysteria threatening to escape from my chest. If you haven’t seen Season 3 of Game of Thrones, mild spoilers may ambush you ahead.

I couldn’t get any pictures of the cinema because all our digital devices, camera or non-camera were stapled up in cute little paper baggies at the counter. All I can say is that once we’d stepped into it and seen all the different house pillows (Stark, Targaryen, Lannister, Baratheon) on the seats, we were overwhelmed with excitement. Somehow, I knew they were going to let us bring them home.

Enough of the gushing! Alright, alright! Here’s the spoiler-free review of Two Swords:

If you’d been paying attention to all the trailers HBO released on YouTube, you would have noticed that we will be introduced to a new character this season, Oberyn Martell. I’d read the books and liked the bad-assedry of the Martells, so I was anticipating his appearance in the show. The casting was great as usual, with Pedro Pascal portraying a man who can be funny and brutal at the same time very well. We will also see Oberyn’s paramour, Ellaria Sand, who’s magnificently played by Indira Varma, oozing just the right amount of seductiveness and concern for the man she loves.

Considering that this is the first episode of the season, we will get to see most of the main characters and fan favourites (Dany, Jon, Tyrion, Arya etc.) and pick up on their stories from where they left off last season. They’ve got most things covered from the Wall to Meereen and if the Gods are so good, we’ll get to see those dragon toddlers we have grown to love (duh!). The pacing for this episode is wonderful for an introduction to prepare us for what lies ahead, but that does not mean that there are no action sequences at all. In fact, by the looks of it, all you blood-lusty people (me included) are going to be immensely rewarded this season. All that this show is known for (and loved for) – violence, sex, gore, humour, breathtaking backdrops, laudable acting – managed to keep up with and, in some situations, outdo those in the previous seasons.

Watching Game of Thrones in the cinema with full surround sound was awesome (cue opening track) and attending the premiere was one of the best things that ever happened in my life. Things have been going pretty well since I turned 20 ten days ago. Maybe it’s a sign that they’re about to get better. Me nem nesa.